Rescuers are looking for survivors and bodies after the floods – DW – October 31, 2024

About 1,000 Spanish soldiers, along with police and firefighters, have begun searching through rubble in the Valencia region after massive floods left at least 95 people dead and many others missing in southeastern Spain.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who has declared three days of national mourning, is scheduled to travel to the region on Thursday.

The disaster was the deadliest of its kind in the country since 1973, and within a few hours, up to a year’s rainfall fell in the region.

Scientists warn that such extreme weather events are becoming more intense, longer and more frequent due to human-induced climate change.

Power outages, lack of drinking water

On Thursday morning, tens of thousands of homes still had no electricity or drinking water, and hundreds of cars and trucks rolled through masses of water, littering the streets.

Authorities said Paiporta, on the outskirts of Valencia, suffered the most deaths, with about 40 people affected by the floods.

Spanish broadcaster RTVE reported that the six people who died there were in a care home for the elderly.

Authorities in the Valencia region, where at least 92 people died, said survivors had been placed in temporary facilities such as fire stations. But they said the death toll in the region would rise as more bodies were found.

Two women were killed in the Castile-La Mancha region southeast of Madrid, and a British citizen was also killed in Andalusia.

Condolences from the Prime Minister, the King

Prime Minister Sanchez expressed his condolences in a televised speech on Wednesday, saying: “All of Spain is crying with you all… We will not abandon you.”

He said the disaster could not be considered the end and that “we will use all necessary resources for as long as necessary so that we can recover from this tragedy.”

King Felipe VI said he was “devastated” by the disaster and offered his “heartfelt condolences” to the families of the victims.

The head of Valencia’s regional government, Carlos Mazon, rejected criticism that the population was warned too late of the coming floods, saying the warnings had already been issued on Sunday.

Regional authorities were criticized for not sending flood warnings to citizens’ mobile phones until 8 p.m. on Tuesday, when flooding had already started in some areas.

i.e./kb (dpa, AP, AFP)